Thorold, Ontario – Jason Barney engineered his outside pole starting position in to his first feature win of the season in the non-stop 25-lap Patriot Sprint Tour opener at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night.

Polesitter Matt Tanner led the opening three laps before Barney claimed the point position at the exit of turn four on lap four. The two drivers battled side-by-side for two laps before Barney pulled away as the leaders reached lapped traffic.

Tanner handed the second spot to Quebec-native Steve Poirier on lap seven when he went over the berm in turn four. Defending Southern Ontario Sprints champion Mitch Brown didn’t allow Poirier the runner-up spot for long as he took the position on lap 11.

Brown pulled Pennsylvania native Jared Zimbardi along with him as the two drivers battled side-by-side amidst lapped traffic over the final 14 laps of the race. The battle allowed Barney to open a three-second lead over the two runner-up cars.

Barney escaped lapped traffic over the final five laps and cruised to the victory. Zimbardi edged Brown at the line for second as Poirier and dash winner Cory Turner completed the top-five.

Bowman Claims 358 Modified Clash

Chad Brachmann and Wayne Conn started on the front row for the 35-lap 358 Modified main event. Neither driver took advantage of the track position to start, however, as Mark D’Ilario used the outside lane to drive around both drivers and lead the opening lap after starting fourth.

Brachmann ran side-by-side with D’Ilario for six laps before reclaiming the lead. Brachmann then pulled away as D’Ilario battled tooth and nail with Kenny Wills’ No.21. Pete Bicknell and Ryan Susice also applied pressure to the second and third-place runners as Brachmann pulled away to a full straightaway lead at the halfway point.

Wills attack eventually relented as he relinquished third to Bicknell. D’Ilario held a slim advantage as Bicknell knocked on the rear-bumper of the No.08 with 15 to go.

The game changed significantly on lap 25 when Dave Flannigan went up in smoke down the backstretch. The yellow erased Brachmann’s nearly half lap lead over D’Ilario who has held off Bicknell and a hard-charging Mike Bowman.

The restart with 10-to-go allowed Bowman to vault in to the second spot and challenge Brachmann for the lead as D’Ilario fell to fourth behind Bicknell. Brachmann held the low lane, but Bowman’s momentum in the outside lane allowed him to clear the polesitter with five to go for the point position. Brachmann did his best to fight back, but Bowman ran a mistake-free five laps to claim the victory. Brachmann, Bicknell, D’Ilario and Susice.

Rouse Wins Sportsman Opener

Brad Rouse and Matt Farnham started on the front row for the 25-lap Sportsman Modified main event. Rouse endured a handful of restarts in the first five laps as the field struggled to build momentum.

Following a lap five restart Rouse couldn’t be tamed by Farnham or third-place runner Chad Chevalier as the field got went on a 15-lap green flag run. Rouse quickly caught the tail of the field before navigating a tough set of lapped traffic.

Cody McPherson took the runner-up spot from Farnham during the long run, which gave him the catbird seat for the final restart of the night on lap 20. The single-file restart played to Rouse’s advantage as he cruised around the bottom lane to his first victory of the season.

The final five laps produced a three-car battle for third. Farnham claimed the spot over Rob Knapp and Chad Chevalier following the battle which was three-wide for a moment.

Klager Steals Niagara Falls Nissan Mod Lite Feature

Derek Wagner used his front row starting position to his advantage to earn an opening night win in the 25-lap Mod Lite feature. The race was a make-up from the rained out September event in which Wagner won the opener in the Niagara Falls Nissan TUSA Canada Modified Lite Championship Weekend..

Wagner raced side-by-side in the opening laps with Rob Misener. A pair of caution on lap six and seven created an exciting battle for the lead. Paul Klager used an eight lap green flag run to race his way in to the second spot as Misener fell to fourth behind Jeff May by the time of a lap 15 caution.

On the ensuing restart, Wagner, Klager and May broke away from the rest of the field. Klager stuck the nose underneath Wagner’s No.61 in turn two on a pair of occasions, but could not gather enough grip to take the lead.

A caution on lap 19 erased a slim lead for Wagner and allowed Klager another shot at the top position. Klager took to the top lane and pulled even for the lead with five to go. The two drivers raced side-by-side as Klager claimed the lead on lap 21 by a nose. On Lap 22, Klager cleared Wagner for the lead using a slick outside lane as the No.61 bobbled on the bottom in turn four.

A final caution on lap 22 produced an exciting finish following the single-file restart. Klager glued his No.1 to the bottom lane and pulled out to a five car-length lead over Wagner on his way to the win. Jeff May took the second spot from Wagner on the final lap ahead of Steve Beckett and Josh Sliter.

Complete Results – Merrittville Speedway Spring Sizzler presented by Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports

Patriot Sprint Tour A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 87 Jason Barney, 2. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 3. 10 Mitch Brown, 4. 28FM Steve Poirier, 5. 97 Cory Turner, 6. 90 Matt Tanner, 7. 11 Jamie Turner, 8. 14H Jim Huppunen, 9. 22 Jim Porter, 10. 00 Dane Lorenc, 11. 17 Sammy Reakes, 12. 17x Dain Naida, 13. 33k Kyle Patrick, 14. 71s Shawn Sliter, 15. 01 Kyle Fraser, 16. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 17. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 18. 49 Todd Hoddick, 19. 7 Tom Huppunen, 20. 67R Pete Richardson, 21. 11J Chris Jones, 22. 27z Stan Zanchin, 23. 81 Derek Jonathan, 24. 67 Steve Collins.

Patriot Sprint Tour Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 00 Dane Lorenc, 2. 81 Derek Jonathan, 3. 11 Jamie Turner, 4. 71s Shawn Sliter, 5. 67R Pete Richardson, 6. 27z Stan Zanchin, 7. 51L Lee Ladouceur, 8. 7 Tom Huppunen, 9. 3 Denny Peebles, 10. 91 Ryan Turner (DNS).

Patriot Sprint Tour Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 87 Jason Barney, 2. 90 Matt Tanner, 3. 10b Mitch Brown, 4. 33k Kyle Patrick, 5. 22 Jim Porter, 6. 67 Steve Collins, 7. 49 Todd Hoddick, 8. 17x Dain Naida, 9. X Dan Bennett, 10. 77x Alex Hill.

Patriot Sprint Tour Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28FM Steve Poirier , 2. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 3. 17 Sammy Reakes, 4. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 5. 14h Jim Huppunen, 6. 97 Cory Turner, 7. 47x Dylan Westbrook, 8. 11J Chris Jones, 9. 7m Justin Martin, 10. 01 Kyle Fraser.

Patriot Sprint Tour Dash (4 Laps): 1. 97 Cory Turner, 2. 81 Derek Jonathan, 3. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 5. 33k Kyle Patrick, 6. 22 Jim Porter.

Patriot Sprint Tour B-Main (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 2. 17x Dain Naida, 3. 7 Tom Huppunen, 4. 49 Todd Hoddick, 5. 3 Denny Peebles, 6. 11J Chris Jones (Provisional), 7. 01 Kyle Fraser (Provisional), 8. X Dan Bennett, 9. 7m Justin Martin, 10. 47x Dylan Westbrook, 11. 77x Alex Hill

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Pinty’s Delicious Foods 358 Modified A-Main (35 Laps): 1. 71 Mike Bowman, 2. 3 Chad Brachmann, 3. 42 Pete Bicknell, 4. 08 Mark D’Ilario, 5. 38R Ryan Susice, 6. 28z Gary Lindberg, 7. 777 Tyler McPherson, 8. 21 Kenny Wills, 9. 28z Gary Lindberg, 10. 8 Wayne Conn, 11. 38 Scott Wood, 12. 3RS Chris Steele, 13. 37 Tommy Flannigan, 14. 01 Chris Raabe, 15. 28 Todd Gordon, 16. 15J Tim Jones, 17. 47 Simon Perreault, 18. 108 Bill Bleich, 19. 96 Fred Carleton, 20. 74 Dave Flannigan.

358 Modifieds Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3 Chad Brachmann, 2. 08 Mark D’Ilario, 3. 71 Matt Bowman, 4. 38 Scott Wood, 5. 47 Simon Perreault, 6. 108 Billy Bleich, 7. 96 Fred Carleton.

358 Modifieds Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8 Wayne Conn, 2. 38R Ryan Susice, 3. 37s Tommy Flannigan, 4. 3RS Chris Steele, 5. 777 Tyler McPherson, 6. 74 Dave Flannigan.

358 Modifieds Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 42 Pete Bicknell, 2. 21 Kenny White, 3. 15J Tim Jones, 4. 01 Chris Raabe, 5. 28 Gary Lindberg, 6. 28 Todd Gordon.

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Yager Bros Trucking Sportsman A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 18R Brad Rouse, 2. 7 Cody McPherson, 3. 7F Matt Farnham, 4. 2k Rob Knapp, 5. 12 Chad Chevalier, 6. 20 Jay Mallory, 7. 9 Paul Gaboury, 8. 11 Joey Mastroianni, 9. 16 Brent Begelo, 10. 8s Justin Sharp, 11. 15 Adam Leslie, 12. 174 Chris Storm, 13. 81 Austin Susice, 14. 72 Gord McIntosh, 15. 119 Chris Watters, 16. 04 Zach Sim, 17. 62 John Babion, 18. 9R Tom Richau, 19. 53B Chris Bellamy, 20. 09 Trevor Wright, 21. 75 Sean Dominey, 22. 18w Chris Herbison, 23. 53 Darryl Farraway, 24. 111B Brett Senek, 25. 00 Jesse Penner.

Sportsman Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18R Brad Rouse, 2. 20 Jay Mallory, 3. 174 Chris Storm, 4. 18w Jim Harbison, 5. 119Jimmy Johnstone, 6. 09 Trevor Wright, 7. 62 John Babion, 8. 00 Jesse Penner, 9. 75 Sean Dominey

Sportsman Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7F Matt Farnham, 2. 12 Chad Chevalier, 3. 9 Paul Gaboury, 4. 15 Adam Leslie, 5. 11 Joey Mastroianni, 6. 81 Austin Susice, 7. 72 Gord McIntosh, 8. 9R Tom Richau.

Sportsman Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 111b Brett Senek, 2. 7 Cody McPherson, 3. 2k Rob Knapp, 4. 16 Brent Begelo, 5. 8s Justin Sharp, 6. 53b Chris Bellamy, 7. 04 Zach Sam, 8. 53F Darrell Farraway.

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Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports Modified Lite A-Main – Niagara Falls Nissan TUSA Canadian Modified Lite Weekend Finale from 2015 (25 Laps): 1. 1 Paul Klager, 2. 23 Jeff May, 3. 61 Derek Wagner, 4. 08 Steve Beckett, 5. 17 Josh Sliter, 6. 91 Shawn Sliter, 7. 33 David Brown, 8. 27 Kenny Meadows, 9. 6 Rob Misener, 10. 0 Doug Williams, 11. 07 Chris Watson, 12. 26R RJ Pietz, 13. 39x Marty DeMoel, 14. 14k Dean Pronovost, 15. 37 James Thompson, 16. 22 Craig Martin, 17. 8m Mark Marcucci.

Modified Lite Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6 Rob Misener, 2. 17 Josh Sliter, 3. 23 Jeffery May, 4. 07 Chris Watson, 5. 14k Dean Pronovost, 6. 8m Mark Marcucci.

Modified Lite Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 27 Ray Meadows, 2. 0 Doug William, 3. 91 Shawn Sliter, 4. 33 David Brown, 5. 67 Rich Brubacher, 6. 37 James Thompson

Modified Lite Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 61 Derek Wagner, 2. 1 Paul Klager, 3. 26R RJ Pietz, 4. 08 Steven Beckett, 5. 39x Marty DeMoel, 6. 22 Craig Martin.

UPCOMING AT MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

Pinty’s Delicious Foods will present the first 5 Division Lucas Oil Weekly Racing Series Event of 2016 – Saturday April 30th.

Joining the Pinty’s Delicious Foods 358 Modifieds and the Yager Bros Trucking Sportsman Divisions are the Hoosier Stocks, Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports Modified Lites and the Van Raine Construction 4 Cylinder Divisions.

Grandstands will open at 5:30 with Show Time at 7:00 PM.

For all the news on Merrittville Speedway’s 65th Consecutive Season in 2016 – visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com. Race fans and Race teams alike can follow Merrittville on Face Book (Facebook.com/Merrittville Speedway) and Twitter (Twitter.com/Merrittville

To reach Merrittville Speedway call 905-892-8266 beginning or via e mail – ebicknell@cogeco,net. Merrittville Speedway is located at 2371 Merrittville Highway in Thorold Ontario. Merrittville Speedway’s Office is open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and is located in the Grandstand Area on the ground floor of the Lucas Oil Tower.

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY SPONSORS The 2016 65th Anniversary Lucas Oil Weekly Racing Series for Merrittville Speedway’s 5 Divisions is brought to race fans and racers by division sponsors – Pinty’s Delicious Foods, Yager Bros Trucking, Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports, Hoosier Tire Canada and Van Raine Construction in addition to many marketing partners Visit them at . http://www.merrittvillespeedway.com/sponsors.htm and visit them when you require their products and/or services.

Lucas Oil Products, Inc., is the world leader in the production high performance oils, fuel treatments and problem solving additives with the largest variety of shelf products of any oil company in North America. Lucas Oil’s premium formulas are marketed worldwide and retail at more than 40,000 auto parts stores across the continent and at virtually every truck stop across Canada.

Race fans can look for Lucas Oil Products at their favourite automotive retailer or maintenance center including Kala’s Home Hardware, KC Auto Parts, RCM Racing Equipment.